1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an armrest, and more particularly, to a wooden armrest made with less material and having enhanced structural strength and prolonged service life. The present invention also relates to methods for manufacturing the armrest.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional armrests are generally made of wood materials. However, armrests entirely made of a single piece of timber are a waste in view of limited wood resources. To save precious wood materials while providing the same appearance, it has been proposed to provide an upper veneer layer made of oak for covering an upper surface of an armrest body made of a wood material (such as rubber wood or pinewood from plantation forests) different from oak and to provide two lateral veneer layers made of oak for covering two lateral surfaces of the armrest body. An example of such an armrest is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,021. However, the armrest body and the upper and lateral veneer layers generally fixed to the armrest body by gluing the have different characteristics in fiber density, specific weight, elongation and shrinkage resulting from temperature change. The armrest is liable to break at the gluing section between the armrest body and the veneer layers due to different deformation resulting from temperature change. Furthermore, although the armrest body is not made of oak, use of the upper and lateral veneer layers made oak could still be a waste if the products do not require a quality appearance.
Thus, a need exists for a wooden armrest made with less material and having enhanced structural strength and prolonged service life.